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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · clip · bat · hide · bay · staff · spring · patient

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. staff — employees
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. staff — employees
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spring — of water
  14. staff — a stick
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com